Copied full backup file vs differential backup

TrueImage 11.0
Windows XP Home SP3

I made a full backup.
I made three differential backups.
I copied the full backup file to another disk. I did not copy the differential files.
I tried to make a differential backup on the copied file, on the other disk.
TI complained that the copied file was not a backup file.

Is that what's intended, or did my copy screw up the output file?

Regards, Bob

 

I don't do differentials but I would have thought your copy would have been OK.

You can check if the copied file has been altered in anyway by looking at the checksum. If you don't have one here is a link to free one.
http://www.irnis.net/soft/xcsc/

Run it on the original, note the checksum and then the copy; the checksums must agree exactly.

 

Thanks for the pointer to the checksum utility! Very useful.

The checksums of the original full backup and the copy are identical, but that's not the issue.

Recall that I made (three) differential backups before copying the original full backup file.

I removed those differential backup files from the original directory, and attempted to do a differential backup in the original directory, using the original full backup file. This fails.

So Acronis isn't doing true differential backups. It knows about intermediate differential backup files. Tsk. I won't get into a dissertation on the right way to do things (my way), but tsk.

 

I know that TI will not validate a differential archive unless all of the intermediate backups are present in the folder if the archive is not stored in a Backup Location. I didn't think that it cared about intermediates being present to do a differential though.

Can you Validate the Full with TI? This would indicate whether the file is still the same as originally written.

Have you tried to do your copy and differential on a different archive than the one you posted about.

 

Hello angbob,

Thank you for choosing Acronis Disk Backup Software.

We are sorry for delayed response.

Please be aware that normally, you are able to create differential/incremental backups to a full one regardless if there were any other full/differential backups created to it in the past. Could you please clarify, as seekforever asked, if you are able to validate the archive successfully?

Thank you.
--
Marat Setdikov